28 units from both the groups have been acquired by Trenitalia, as part of a process of simplifying rail operation between Italy, Switzerland, Austria and Germany.

They were initially produced by Adtranz (a consortium made up of ABB Trazione and AEG), but now are built by the Canadian company Bombardier.

In the early 1990s, Ferrovie dello Stato started an operational plan to organize an integrated rail system with the countries on Italy's northern border, following the European political-economic unification process.

The E.412 class was to be used on the longest, steepest and hardest mountain-crossing line, connecting Verona Porta Nuova and Munich via Brennero/Brenner, crowded with cargo and passenger trains and with different electrifications.

The contract was signed in 1993 with an Italian-German consortium, Adtranz, headed by ABB Trazione and AEG, based in Vado Ligure.

The Italian E.464 class (for light commuter trains) is based on E.412, sharing part of their components to reduce building costs and to simplify maintenance.

The device was modified to adapt it for use with the different voltages, featuring technical innovations such as the use of a primary multitension converter as a front-end inducer to the filter feeding current.

Bogies are fixed to the chassis with Flexicoil suspension units, a solution that removes the necessity of a central rotation point.

An emergency system enables the driver to totally shut down the machine pressing two big red buttons on the console, cutting off electricity and engaging the brakes.

The front of the two control cabs have two characterizing "masks", styled by the designers Roberto Segoni and Paolo Pizzoccheri Des.Tech.studio made by thermoforming technology.

Moreover, on the right side a third monitor is used for operation in Germany, where the main direction of travel on multiple track lines is the opposite from that of Italy.